Andria and Zoey Green, 7 and 8 years old, were trying to raise money for their dad’s Father’s Day gift. So, like any youngster, they opened up a lemonade stand, along with kettle corn. After making $25 in their first hour open, Overton, Texas police arrived on scene and promptly told the young’uns they were being shut down.
“A code enforcement officer and the chief, she called me to the side and said we needed a permit,” Sandi (Green, the girls’ mother) recalls.
The City agreed to waive the $150 fee for a ‘Peddler’s Permit,” but the health department would prove a bigger problem.
Police Chief Clyde Carter explains, “It is a lemonade stand but they also have a permit that they are required to get.”
Texas House Bill 970, or the Texas Baker’s Bill, prohibits the sale of food which requires time or temperature control to prevent spoilage. Since lemonade technically must be refrigerated to prevent the growth of bacteria, by law, the girls can not sell it without an inspection and permit.
Sandi does not agree.
“I think that’s ridiculous. I think they’re 7 and 8 and they’re just trying to make money for their own cause,” she said.
Chief Carter can be reached at (903) 834-3145. It’s nice to know his boys are keeping these 2 hardened thugs from committing more crimes!
Andria and Zoey plan to be out peddling their illegal lemonade again on Saturday, only this time, technically, the lemonade can’t be for “sale”, they can only take “donations.”
Overton is located about 50 miles east of Dallas, and boasts some of the lowest crime rates in the state.
